Morning journal and courier., 1887-11-19
AN ACCIDENTAL DIsCOvERY
I'm the Art Photographic Made by an
Amateur Well Known In this CITY.


Amateur Well known in this City.
A late number of the Century magazine
contains an instructive article relative to the
Photographic art, and in it special mention
is made of happy discovery and invention
made by William Schmid of Brooklyn, NY,
gentleman who has visited New Haven sew
eral times and has many friends here. Ex-
quisite specimens of his artistic Photographic
skill are to be seen in this city and are high
ly valued by their possessors. The portion
of the article relative to Mr.. Sehmid is as
follows:
GA novel result of the instantaneous pro-
cess is seen in the camera without legs.
There is only one way to get along without
the tripod, said a well known New York
photographer. you must focus, and for this
purpose a stick inserted in the bottom of the
camera and resting on the ground might be
used After being assured by excellent
authorities that the idea was absurd Mr.
William Schmid of Brooklyn, N. Y, made
the first of the detective cameras. Mr..
Schmid is neither professional photographer
nor a mechanic, but musician. Let me say
behind respectful parenthesis that most of
the improvements in modern photography
have been discovered or instituted by anna
tours. Working only for pleasure and at
risk. He INDUCES in most unortkodox mea-
sures, violating recognized rules of procedure
and with bewildering impunity. Then the
amateur blunders. To b1under is to discov-
or, though it is infinitely more pleasurable to
have the other fellow do the discovering.
With his client waiting outside to learn the
result of the sitting the professional cannot
afford to discover at this price.
"The detective solved several problems
Focusing, which is a simple matter of arith-
metic, was accomplished with lens. In
order to discover the field of the lens and the
camera obsoura was fitted in the front of the
box and perforated disc of black rubber
made the exposure in a space of time vary
ing between the thirty-ffth and the one hun
dred and thirtieth part of a second.
Nothing connected with photography has
proved SO fascinating as this detective CAM
era. Disguised in a small inconsPicuous box,
which might readily be taken for profess
sional hand satchel, it is indeed witch ma
chine as it was named last summer by an
astonished resident of the Tyrol, when, under
its inventors arm, it was winking its way
through some of the quaintest towns in Eu-
rope. In the open air nothing is closed
against the detective In the rigging of -
tossing ocean steamer or in a crowd on the
Bowery it is always prepared, with one open
and the other shut. Fragments of street
scenery, little genre bits in out Of the way
corners tableaux in rustic or town life, re-
curing instant capture, all impossible to the
ordinary camera, are caught by the detect
i've in their very effervescence.
"In the hands of police officials the tdetec-
tive has justified its name. It has already
several times figured in court proceedings,
and may well be regarded with uneasiness
by those whose face is not their fortune. An
English detective is described as having dis
puised himself as bootb1ack and hidden
camera in a foot box with results gratifying
to the police department and very bewilder-
ing to the rogues."